The field of the present invention relates to bar steps applicable to small-sized vehicles of the type wherein a rider straddles the vehicle body frame and seat such as, for example, motorcycles, motor tricycles, etc., and more particularly to a pair of right and left bar steps provided in association with underframes of the above-referred type of vehicles.
On motorcycles intended to be run on public roads, bar steps have been constructed of metal support members provided in association with an underframe and covered by step rubber pieces. On the other hand, motorcycles intended to run off-road, over rough terrain, have employed bar steps constructed of metal support members provided in association with an underframe and having curved metal plates with teeth-shaped notches along the upper edge. Such covered metal plates having teeth-shaped notches make contact with the bottom of a boot worn by a rider and bite into the bottom to reliably hold the boot in position when riding over rough terrain.
In some cases, however, an off-road type motorcycle might be run on public roads. In such cases, it may be undesirable to use steps constructed of curved metal plates having teeth-shaped notches. The teeth-shaped notches may possibly damage boots or other shoes not intended for off-road use. In order to avoid such damage, it is advisable to replace the above-mentioned bar steps for off-road running with the above-described bar steps for on-road running making use of a step rubber. Thereafter, when the motorcycle is run on rough terrain, the bar steps must be replaced again Similarly, an on/off-road motorcycle intended to be run both on public roads as well as rough terrain, as may be seen from its name, requires an appropriate selection of either bar steps for on-road running or bar steps for off-road running. The problem of switching between bar steps is similar to the case of the off-road type motorcycle. In either case, the replacement work is troublesome.